US Crude Settles At 6-Month Low, Brent Also Languishing

NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday as abundant supplies in the United States drove the U.S. contract to its lowest close in six months, while Brent prices floundered near nine-month lows.

Prices saw some early support from a U.S. government report showing that U.S. crude inventories fell 1.8 million barrels last week and gasoline stocks dipped sharply. But the oil drop was smaller than the one reported by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday and not large enough to stem a recent drop in prices prompted in part by ample domestic stockpiles.

Crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery hub for the U.S. crude contract, rose by 83,000 barrels, which also pressured prices.

"The general trend is definitely downwards," said Tariq Zahir, an analyst at Tyche Capital Advisors in New York. "Cushing stocks got to a point were they can't go down much further. If we continue to see a build, that could open the floodgates to even lower prices."

U.S. crude for September delivery lost 46 cents to settle at $96.92 a barrel, its weakest settlement since Feb. 3.

Brent crude oil lost 2 cents settle at $104.59 a barrel, its lowest close since Nov. 7.

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